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PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE

Don’t Stress Out

By Adam Ratner, MD, 2019 BCMS President

Do you need help...

and don’t feel comfortable speaking to someone you know, or someone provided by your employer?

By the time you read this, the Bexar County Medical Society is launching a new confidential physician wellness and mental
health program which we call LifeBridge. The purpose of the program is to confidentially address the growing issue of physician
stress and burnout.

The Basics of the LifeBridge Program:
• The BCMS LifeBridge program is intended to provide one free month of counseling/therapy to BCMS members for virtually
all types of personal mental health challenges and stress.

• Online counseling means the user can interact personally with a Texas-licensed counselor/therapist via phone, video conference,
text or email. It is available 24/7/365.

• The program is confidential and your employer, partners, family, staff will not know you are using the program unless you
choose to reveal it.

• When initially engaging the program, you will be asked several questions in the sign-up process to determine the best
counselor/therapist match for you and your needs. Over 300 Texas-licensed counselors/therapists are in the network.

• At the end of the one free month, you can choose to continue using the service at the pre-negotiated rate of $45/week with
unlimited usage.

• This program is not designed to provide acute suicide prevention services. In these situations, the member will be referred to
suicide hotlines.

You will be receiving more specific information, but you will also be able to access this member benefit via the BCMS web site
when it becomes available.
If you have any questions about this program and wish to know more, please don’t hesitate to contact me or Steve Fitzer, our
Executive Director.

Dr. Adam Ratner is President of the Bexar County Medical Society and serves as Professor and Interim Associate Dean of Student Affairs of
the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine and Chair of The Patient Institute.

8 San Antonio Medicine • August 2019